Wednesday, January 08, 2014

WHO reports reduction in malaria rates

Between 2000 and 2012 the incidence of malaria has reduced globally by 29% and by 31% in Africa.According to the World Health Organisation’s ‘World Malaria Report
2013′ this is due to the increased political commitment and expanded
funding for efforts to control and eliminate malaria.

As a result, an estimated 3.3 million lives have been saved since 2000.

Most of those saved lives were in the 10 countries with the highest incidence of malaria.

The group most affected by the disease are children under 5 years.

During the 12-year period, malaria mortality rates in children in Africa were reduced by an estimated 54%.

“This remarkable progress is no cause for complacency: absolute
numbers of malaria cases and deaths are not going down as fast as they
could,” according to Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.

“The fact that so many people are infected and dying from mosquito
bites is one of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century,” she added.

Approximately 3.4 billion people remain at risk of malaria, mostly in Africa and south-east Asia.

There are many malaria reduction programmes provided by an array of organisations, often as part of broader health programmes.

For example Sr Cecily Bourdillon, a native of Zimbabwe, and an MMM
doctor, has been responsible for a network of home-based care services
in seventy-six villages in the Shire River Valley area of Malawi.

The estimated population of 22,544 in the various villages have
trained home-based care volunteers.

At central healthcare centres groups
of locals gather in the shade of a large tree to learn about topics
such as malaria prevention and treatment, HIV/AIDS, rehydration and
nutrition.

After the lecture, children are weighed, screened and
vaccinated.

Another project run by the WHO, the Malaria Programme, with a grant
from the Government of Canada, has concentrated on reducing deaths in
children under 5 years of age living in remote rural areas in Africa.

It equips community volunteers to recognise, diagnose and treat
malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia – the top three childhood killers.

Between 2013 and 2015, more than 7,500 community health workers
living in a thousand villages across 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa
will be trained to care for 1.2 million children.

Dr Bacary Sambou, Technical Officer, WHO Democratic Republic of Congo
office explained: “Too many young children are dying in rural, remote
parts of this country, and 80% of those deaths are precipitated by three
diseases – malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea. This is senseless, because
we have excellent tools to diagnose and treat all of them.”

The report highlights that malaria prevention suffered a setback
after its strong build-up between 2005 and 2010. This was mainly due to
lack of funds to buy bed nets and there were some signs of improving
numbers for 2014.

Despite progress, millions of people continue to lack access to
diagnosis and quality-assured treatment, particularly in countries with
weak health systems. Global funding has increased from less than US$100
million in 2000 to almost US$2 billion in 2012.

This and domestic funding of US$ 0.5 billion is less than half the
US$5.1 billion needed each year for universal access to interventions.